Emerald Coast On The Rise

Emerald Coast Real Estate on the Rise Real Estate on the Emerald Coast is on the rise. According to the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, pending sales have increased in July with 5.4 percent for single family homes and 13.1 percent for townhomes and condos. Price points are also becoming competitive with a one percent median sales price increase for Okaloosa County and a 19 percent increase for Walton county. Let's compare some numbers to last year, overall the single-family home inventory on the Emerald Coast has seen a decrease of 25.7 percent while condo and townhomes decreased30 percent. With short sale and foreclosure transactions decreasing, we see a welcome sign that our market on the Emerald Coast is getting stronger.

Home Ownership

Homeownership isn't a retirement plan, but it can help you get there fasterOnce upon a time (i.e., 2006), the real estate market got so hot that it was common to hear people chatting about buying homes left and right. It became equally common for this excess of home equity to create a false sense of financial security, resulting in many homeowners saving less than they might have otherwise. Relying on home equity for retirement requires that you sell the place at some point, cashing out and moving somewhere cheaper (and potentially less desirable). But, there are a number of other ways your home can help you five, ten, even twenty years in advance of your planned retirement. Here are six strategies for using your home to help you retire—without having to sell the place and move to Timbuktu.

Housing Bust Is Over!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Mortgage rates fell again this week, smashing previous record lows, according to a regular weekly release from mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, the most popular mortgage product, dropped to 3.62% from 3.66% last week. The rate has matched or hit a new low for 10 of the past 11 weeks, Freddie Mac said. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate fell to 2.89%, down from 2.94%.

"Recent economic data releases of less consumer spending and a contraction in the manufacturing industry drove long-term Treasury bond yields lower over the week, and allowed fixed mortgage rates to hit new all-time record lows," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is popular among homeowners who are seeking to refinance or to trade-up and minimize their total interest payments. At the current rate, a borrower financing $200,000 would pay $1,370 a month and spend a total of just under $47,000 in interest over the 15-year span of the mortgage.

Related: Where home prices are rising fastest

Buyers who want to minimize their monthly payments by opting for a 30-year loan would have payments of just $911 a month on a $200,000 loan. But they would pay $128,000 in interest over the life of the loan.

Mortgage Rates Continue To Drop!

Mortgage Rates for a 30 year loan are down from 4.64% average in May 2011 to 3.8% average this last May 2012. With rates going even lower it is a good time to buy or refinance.

Florida Housing Market

                                                                                                                 Florida Housing Market continues to be on a positive track in May.

The recovery in Florida's housing market continues to grow stronger and stronger. Pending sales up 43.1% for single family homes and up 33.4% for condos/townhomes. Some areas in Florida are having a shortage of inventory which is resulting in multiple offers. 

Starting June 15, Fannie and Freddie-backed lenders must respond within 30 calendar days to a buyer's short sale offer.

Sandestin Inventory Dips Below 300 On April 9th, inventory within the gates of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort reached a number we haven't seen in some time -298 listings. This compares with 439 listings in April 2011.Henderson Real Estate Group can help you find a wonderful property before prices start going higher!

U.S. home buying finally signals a recovery

Many would-be buyers appear emboldened by reduced prices, record-low mortgage rates, higher rents and more jobs.

Homes represent a better bargain than Stocks at this point, says financial commentator Ben Stein, newsman commentator. In January US homes fell to the lowest level, 0.8 percent since 2003. Homes are just begging to be bought!

Confidence in consummer's views of their own Finances is Stablizing! Fannie Mae says an   increasing number of Americans now expect home rental costs and home purchase prices to increase over the next year.

Sandestin Gumbo Festival!

February 17th and 18th!

Retired Moving To Florida In Large Numbers!

A recent US Census Report indicates that US residents from Northern Climates are once again heading to Florida for retirement. The dates between April 2010 and July 2011, Florida welcomed 560 new residents to Florida EACH DAY!

Home Sales Contracts Continue to Rise

Dec 29 2011, 4:04PM

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) announced on Thursday that pending home sales in November reached the highest levels seen in 19 months.  The NAR Pending Sales Index, generally seen as a leading indicator of the level of sales over the next 30 to 90 days, increased 7.3 percent from October figures to an index of 100.1 and is 5.9 percent above November 2010 when the index was 94.5. 
The November reading is the highest since April 2010 when it reached 111.5 near the end of eligibility for the popular homebuyers tax credit which expired the following June 30.  The Pending Home Sales Index is based on signed contracts for home purchases and does not reflect transaction closings.

Kiplinger’s Housing Forecast: Positive Signs Offset the Negative

The median home price in the U.S. has plunged nearly 40% in a little over five years, but the worst is definitely over, according to a recent report by Kiplinger: The market has finally wrung out the last excess valuations born of the housing bubble. Before you break out the party hats, note that this doesn't mean prices across the nation are poised to rebound anytime soon. Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital, a provider of real estate data and analytics, said the housing market is in a "suspended state," with positive and negative factors offsetting one another. But he doesn't expect another free fall in prices, assuming "things are left to work themselves out and there are no further shocks to the economy

Homes for sale declining across South Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Oct. 5, 2011 – The number of homes and condominiums for sale has steadily declined across South Florida in 2011, frustrating buyers and leading to bidding wars in some cases, real estate agents say.

An October update from Chip Rowand of the Keyes Co. in Weston shows that Broward County has 13,480 single-family homes and condos for sale. In Palm Beach County, there are 15,782 homes and condos on the market.

Those figures are less than half of what they were a few years ago, Rowand said.

“We’re seeing multiple showings and multiple offers if the homes are priced right,” he said. “We need more inventory.”

Analysts expect that’ll happen soon enough as a new wave of foreclosures hits the market.

The foreclosure pipeline slowed considerably last year as banks investigated possible paperwork errors as part of the “robo-signer” controversy. Now lenders are starting to process foreclosures more quickly.

Last week, research firm CoreLogic reported that the so-called shadow inventory of homes for sale declined to 1.6 million in July from 1.9 million a year ago.

Shadow inventory is a hidden supply of homes that are likely to come on the market as a result of foreclosures.

“The steady improvement in the shadow inventory is a positive development for the housing market,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a statement. “However, continued price declines, high levels of (underwater mortgages) and a sluggish labor market will keep the shadow supply elevated for an extended period of time.”

© 2011 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Paul Owers. Distributed by MCT Information Services

Destin, Florida Seafood Festival

Coldwell Banker United Destin Cares

CBU Cares: From dream homes to children in need, CBU Realtors strive to provide

September 17, 2011 1:20 PM

Katy Houghton

As well as helping homebuyers and sellers with their real estate quests, the agents of Coldwell Banker United are passionate about supporting local charities and children in need.

“Last year, a group of agents got together and created the idea of an internal organization to raise money for charities in the community that they’re passionate about,” said Jamie Huggins, CBU sales manager and broker.

That dream of an informal organization quickly grew into a formal foundation known as CBU Cares. After each sale, each of the 59 agents pledge to make a donation of a certain percentage of their sales commission.

Volunteer CBU Realtors, known as the Vision Council, recently went through agent-submitted applications and decided that Children in Crisis was exactly what they were looking for in their first act of charity as a foundation. 

At Wednesday’s sales meeting, CBU Realtors presented Ken Hair, the president and CEO of Children in Crisis, a check for $2,500.

CIC is a nonprofit charity in Fort Walton Beach that provides homes for neglected, abused and abandoned children of the community. Hair said they were very happy and thankful to be selected as CBU Cares’ signature charity.

“The money will go to feed, clothe and care for these children,” Hair said. “It’s because of donations from places like Coldwell Banker that we are able to keep our doors open.”

CBU Cares is an agent-driven foundation with the dream of contributing time and money to local organizations and charities. Coldwell Banker United also supports Habitat for Humanity and breast cancer research through the American Cancer Society.

“One of our five core values is supporting and being a part of the community,” Huggins said, adding that CBU Cares will make an annual donation to Children in Crisis. “That is my dream for this office.”

Destin Named Best Place To LIve and Boat

Magazine names Destin the best place to live and boat

May 28, 2011 7:18 PM

Katy Houghton

Florida Freedom Newspapers

TOP PLACES TO LIVE AND BOAT:

1. Destin, Fla.
2. Long Island, N.Y.
3. Newport, Ore.
4. Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.
5. Chattanooga, Tenn.
6. Phoenix
7. Seattle
8. Columbia, S.C.
9. Green Bay, Wis.
10. Traverse City, Mich.

SOURCE: Boating magazine

DESTIN — The area has another feather in its cap after scoring the top spot in Boating magazine’s Top 10 Best Places to Live and Boat.

“Once people go boating in Destin, they’re hooked,” said Fred Pace, managing partner for Legendary Marine.

When deciding the best places to set sail, Boating magazine considered “livability, public access, convenience and also relaxing getaways …”

“Destin has great cruising ability and it’s a terrific place to fish,” Pace said. “There are so many places to boat. There is Crab Island, the magnificent waterways … I’m not sure there is a close second.”

Among the local landmarks for the magazine were Crab Island, Choctawhatchee Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway and the “plentiful” vacation rentals.

Peter Wright, owner of the Ship’s Chandler in Destin, said he thinks there are a couple of reasons Destin took the top spot on the list.

“It’s a big vacation area. A lot of people from cities that placed on the list come here,” he said. “There are places you can catch bigger marlin and more shellfish, but if you drew a five mile circle around the East Pass, you will catch such a variety of fish unlike anywhere else.”  

Wright moved to the Emerald Coast in the 1970s with his family and got his first job on a fishing boat in Destin.

“This is going to help everybody out, especially the charter boat captains who took one on the chin” during last year’s oil spill, Wright said. “For boat dealers like myself, we’re starting to pick up that pace, but there is still a lot of work to go. I’m just glad the fish are biting.”

Shane Moody, president and CEO of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce, said even after living here for nearly eight years, being on the water is still a magnificent experience.

“The colors, the clarity, the marine life — we see dolphins near or around the boat every time we go out. You can’t get that anywhere else,” Moody wrote in an email. “You have Crab Island, the most unique boating destination
I’ve ever seen. You have the Intracoastal Waterway and the sound where you can pull your boat up on one of numerous islands or beaches and have a day-long outing.”

He also noted Destin’s location on the Gulf of Mexico and its great fishing.

“Destin’s history is full of boating, from charter boats to commercial fishing to recreational boating,” Moody wrote. “It’s not really part of our lives, it is our way of life, and that’s what makes living and boating spectacular in Destin.”

Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/destin-40589-live-magazine.html#ixzz1YPMDh4NW

Staged-to-Sell, But Is it Priced-to-Sell?

September 12, 2011 by Melissa Tracey · 4 Comments
Filed under: Home Trends, Staging Tips 

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Staging a home to perfection can certainly get buyers’ attention, but pricing the home to sell is what often will get them in the front door, housing experts say.

With home values dropping across the country, a few sellers are still struggling to come to terms that their home may not be worth what they previously thought. About 77 percent of home owners believe their home is worth more than the recommended listing price, according to real estate professionals surveyed in the HomeGain National Home Values Survey. Yet, about 67 percent of home buyers say home values are still overpriced.

Nearby foreclosures can certainly influence a seller’s asking price. Foreclosures in a community can actually reduce nearby property values, on average, by $20,300 per household, according to research by the Center for Responsible Lending.

But many sellers can’t accept that their home’s value may be lower because of the houses down the street.

The sellers who tend to be overpricing their homes the most are the ones who bought post-housing bubble too, according to a study earlier this summer by Zillow.

Zillow found that home sellers who purchased their home in 2007 or later are overpricing their homes by an average of 14.1 percent. On the other hand, sellers who purchased their homes between 2002 and 2006 (pre-housing bubble) tend to price their homes about 9.3 percent above market value, according to the Zillow study.

“Post-bubble buyers seem to believe they escaped the worst of the housing recession, as evidenced by how they price their homes today,” says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. “But 2006 was just the beginning of the housing recession, and it is continuing in earnest to this day. That means that even people who bought after the bubble burst need to break out the pencil and paper and do serious research into what has happened in their market since they first bought their home, whether it was four years ago or six months ago. Overpricing homes causes them to stagnate on the market and keeps inventory from decreasing–not a desirable outcome for either the sellers or the market as a whole.”

Downsizing Trend Shows Signs of Reversing

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

New-home sizes had shown signs of shrinking since the housing crisis and recession. However, Americans are still showing signs of living large. 

A new-home built in 2010 averaged 2,392 square feet — still more than 650 square feet larger than in 1980, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. While square footage in new homes have dropped slightly since 2007 (when it as 2,521 square feet), new-home sizes are still bigger than what they were from three decades ago. In 1980, new homes were, on average, 1,740 square feet. 

With the extra square footage nowadays, home owners are adding more rooms. For example, in 1980, more than 25 percent of all new homes had 1.5 bathrooms or less. In 2010, only 8 percent of homes had 1.5 or fewer bathrooms, while the overwhelmingly majority had a lot more. 

Source: “The Way We Live Now is Bigger,” LifeInc.com (Sept. 8, 2011)